Coffee Jumps out of the Cup

The saying that one person’s garbage is another person’s treasure holds true with coffee, which is typically dumped after it’s been sitting for more than 30 minutes on the warming plate. To a chef, that coffee has just started reducing itself into a concentrate for potential applications ranging from inclusion in a glaze for shrimp kabobs to a mascarpone filling for cannoli.

“Legend has it that coffee and tea was eaten for a long time before they were brewed into a beverage,” says Almir DaFonseca, chef instructor, Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, St. Helena, CA.

These days, coffee is hot ... and cold ... in a variety of food applications. Brewed coffee and toasted and ground whole coffee beans, as well as coffee extracts, concentrates and powders, are going into all types of foods and beverages.

ORIGINAL FLAVORS

Before creating signature dishes using coffee as a prominent flavor, it is important to understand the many facets of coffee beans. There are two major species of the coffee plant: Coffea arabica, simply referred to as arabica, and Coffea canephora, also called Coffea robusta, or simply robusta. Arabica plants make up about two-thirds of the world coffee market, whereas robusta plants are about a third.

Arabica grows best in the cool and dry conditions found at elevated tropical locations. This climate results in arabica beans absorbing less moisture, so they are smaller and denser than robusta beans. They also mature more slowly, resulting in a milder flavor and a more-balanced aroma. Because they are smaller and take longer to mature, arabica plants produce a lower yield than robusta. Further, arabica plants are extremely sensitive and any out-of-the-ordinary climate fluctuation can damage the plants. Most arabica coffee is produced in South and Central America.

Hardier robusta coffee plants flourish best in warm, humid equatorial forests located at sea level up to 2,000 feet. Within this environment, robustas produce a greater yield than arabicas because they absorb more moisture and, thus, produce a bigger bean. And, under the accelerated growth conditions of the lower rainforest, they mature more quickly and blossom throughout the year. Robustas have a “robust” taste, heavier body and more-pungent aroma than arabica beans. Most robusta coffee is grown in Africa and Southeast Asia.